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Hogan Lovells Adds Five New Intellectual Property Partners in Silicon Valley and San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, 17 September 2012 – Hogan Lovells announced today that Edward Kwok, Jennifer Lantz, Steve Levitan, Christian Mammen, and Clark Stone have joined as partners in the Intellectual Property (IP) practice. Kwok, Lantz, Levitan, and Stone arrive from Haynes and Boone LLP, and will be based in the Silicon Valley office, while Mammen joins from a private practice and will be based in San Francisco.

“We are seeing tremendous growth in our global Intellectual Property and Patent Litigation practices, and these new partners give us additional capabilities and critical mass in one of the most important technology and IP markets in the world," said Hogan Lovells Co-CEO Warren Gorrell. "We see great opportunities to expand our market share of IP litigation in the Bay Area, and we anticipate there will be new and expanded opportunities to provide value to clients both in California and around the world."

The incoming partners will focus on IP litigation in federal courts, state courts, the International Trade Commission (ITC), and arbitration proceedings, with an emphasis on patent and trademark litigation for West Coast and Asia-based technology clients. The group has deep experience in electrical engineering and computer science-related fields, and in other areas, including Internet search, high-temperature superconductivity, mobile telecommunications, digital video and audio, and biotechnology. Collectively, the team has handled cases in federal and state courts throughout California; federal courts in Delaware, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C.; and in the ITC.

“Clients need a single source to handle global IP disputes, and Hogan Lovells is extremely well positioned to manage those global cases, regardless of jurisdiction or country of origin,” said Korula T. “Sunny” Cherian, Co-Head of the U.S. Intellectual Property practice. “With the addition of this new group of partners, our ability to handle significant cross-border IP disputes has never been stronger.”

Hogan Lovells’ Intellectual Property practice group has more than 390 lawyers, specialists, and paralegals worldwide, combining a strategic, global outlook with local knowledge and a keen understanding of the technological and business factors involved in this area of law. Hogan Lovells has one of the few truly global Intellectual Property practices. The team handles IP litigation in U.S. and European courts, the ITC, and other forums throughout the world, and handles the IP and technology law aspects of major corporate and commercial transactions.

“We are thrilled to welcome these incredibly talented, seasoned, and well-connected lawyers,” said Megan Dixon, Managing Partner of Hogan Lovells’ San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices. “Their strong credentials and track record in the Bay Area are a great addition to the team, and the international networks they have developed will forge important connections between our West Coast IP capabilities and our leading IP practice in Asia.”

This influx of IP litigation talent in the Bay Area closely follows the recent additions of Mark Goodman and Ethan Miller who joined the San Francisco office as partners in the Litigation, Arbitration and Employment practice in early September. These recent additions also add fuel to the growth that began in 2011 when a team of five IP litigation partners, led by Sunny Cherian and Scott Wales, joined the Intellectual Property practice in the San Francisco office.

About the new partners

Edward Kwok’s practice focuses on patent prosecution, patent and trade secret litigation, IP portfolio assessment and development, infringement and validity opinions, and licensing. He has extensive experience in representing clients in intellectual property litigations in state courts, federal courts, and the ITC. Since 1993, he has participated in patent infringement and trade secret trials before the ITC. Kwok has prosecuted patents for analog and digital electronic circuits, computer architecture, network systems, software, semiconductor equipment, semiconductor materials and processing, mass storage media, optical and laser instrumentation, controllers, telecommunication systems, digital signal processing, image processing, wireless communication systems, global positioning system applications, and software and Internet applications. Before becoming a lawyer, Kwok held various engineering and management positions in the semiconductor industry. Kwok received his J.D. from the Santa Clara University School of Law, his M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and his S.B. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jennifer Lantz focuses on intellectual property litigation, with an emphasis on trademark litigation, and on trademark prosecution and counseling. She has extensive experience in patent, trademark, copyright, unfair competition, and false advertising disputes. Her litigation experience encompasses trial and appellate work in federal courts nationwide, California and Massachusetts state courts, numerous patent cases before the ITC, and arbitrations conducted by the International Chamber of Commerce. She has a robust practice managing trademark portfolios for national and international clients, including clearance, prosecution, licensing, enforcement, and social media and advertising matters. Lantz also is experienced in trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and UDRP (domain name) arbitration proceedings. Lantz received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Georgia Law School and her B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Steve Levitan focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation and licensing. He has extensive experience in patent, trademark, trade secret, and technology contract disputes. Levitan has litigated numerous patent cases before the ITC, and previously served as Co-Chair of his firm’s ITC practice group. His intellectual property litigation experience, acquired over 22 years of practice, also encompasses trial and appellate work in federal courts, California and Oregon state courts, and arbitrations conducted by the International Chamber of Commerce and the American Arbitration Association. In addition to his litigation practice, throughout his career, Levitan has negotiated intellectual property license agreements as well as technology development and transfer agreements. He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, cum laude, and his B.A. in History from Stanford University.

Christian Mammen focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, with an emphasis on patent litigation. Prior to joining Hogan Lovells, Mammen spent over 15 years as a litigator in the San Francisco Bay Area, including private practice at the Law Office of Christian Mammen and several nationally known firms. He has worked on litigation and trial teams for some of the largest, most complex patent disputes in the country. He also recently served as Acting Assistant Dean of International and Graduate Programs and visiting professor with the University of California Hastings College of the Law, where his research has focused on intellectual property law. He is currently a lecturer in law at UC Hastings, where he teaches a seminar on Selected Topics in Advance Patent Law. Mammen received a D.Phil. in Law from the University of Oxford, his J.D., magna cum laude, from Cornell Law School, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Trinity University.

Clark Stone’s practice focuses on litigation relating to patents, trademarks, Internet privacy, trade secrets, and business disputes for high technology clients, in federal and state courts and the ITC. He has handled cases involving semiconductor devices, manufacturing processes and equipment, electronic circuitry, global positioning systems, cellular handsets, patent licenses, commercial contracts, online trademark issues, software, electronic mail, and trade secrets misappropriation. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Stone worked in both technical and managerial positions for various semiconductor manufacturing equipment companies, including Applied Materials, Inc., and Novellus Systems, Inc. He has an extensive knowledge of semiconductor devices and manufacturing techniques, plasma etching and deposition, and Internet-related technologies. A past president of the Santa Clara County Bar Association (2007), Stone has served as a volunteer arbitrator for the Santa Clara County Bar Association’s Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Arbitration program since 2002, and also serves as a volunteer arbitrator for the State Bar of California’s Mandatory Fee Arbitration program. Stone received his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law and his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.